From the No. 1 seed Kansas Jayhawks to the No. 10 seed Iowa State Cyclones, get to know the field for the 2018 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. Jason Boatright The Kansas City Star

From the No. 1 seed Kansas Jayhawks to the No. 10 seed Iowa State Cyclones, get to know the field for the 2018 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. Jason Boatright The Kansas City Star

The opener is Bedlam, also known as Oklahoma-Oklahoma State. The eighth-seeded Cowboys face the No. 9 Sooners — at 6 p.m. The second game matches seventh-seeded Texas, fighting for its NCAA Tournament life, against No. 10 Iowa State, the defending champion.

Nine teams, all but the Cyclones, hold NCAA Tournament ambition as an at-large entry, with some having more work to do than others. The winner gets the league's automatic qualifier.

In an event that could be as competitive as any in its 22-year history, 10 teams bring 10 narratives to Kansas City.

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No. 1 seed Kansas (24-7, 13-5)

Consecutive Big 12 championship No. 14 was one of Kansas’ most amazing. The Jayhawks play seven in the rotation and are vulnerable when they’re misfiring on three-pointers or big man Udoka Azubuike gets in foul trouble. But when KU is on, this can be a Final Four team.

No. 2 Texas Tech (23-8, 11-7)

Is Keenan Evans close to 100 percent? The all-conference guard dealt with an injured toe down the stretch, ending the Red Raiders’ Big 12 title hopes. But Evans looked good scoring 23 in the regular-season finale against TCU and Tech has its highest seed in Big 12 Tournament history.

Odds of winning the tournament: 4/1

NCAA Tournament chance: 100 percent

NCAA seed range: 3-5

First game: vs. Texas-Iowa State winner at 6 p.m. Thursday

No. 3 West Virginia (22-9, 11-7)

After not collecting a victory in their first three visits to Kansas City, the Mountaineers have reached the title game in the past two seasons. Is this the breakthrough year for Bob Huggins’ team led by defensive standouts Jevon Carter and Sagaba Konate?

Odds of winning the tournament: 13/4

NCAA Tournament chance: 100 percent

NCAA seed range: 3-5

First game: vs. No. 6 Baylor around 8:30 p.m. Thursday

No. 4 Kansas State (21-10, 10-8)

The Wildcats have their best seed since their 2013 Big 12 championship season. Dean Wade became the program’s first all-conference selection in five years. K-State has improved on the defensive end this season, leading the league in steals (7.7) and finishing second in turnover margin in Big 12 games.

Odds of winning the tournament: 15/1

NCAA Tournament chance: 90 percent

NCAA seed range: 8-11

First game: vs. No. 5 TCU at 11:30 a.m. Thursday

No. 5 TCU (21-10, 9-9)

The Frogs’ best Big 12 season has them pointed toward their first NCAA appearance since 1998. The team wobbled when they lost point guard Jaylen Fisher for the season in January because of a knee injury but they’ve won over of their last five, including a home victory over Kansas State.

Odds of winning the tournament: 13/2

NCAA Tournament chance: 95 percent

NCAA seed range: 6-9

First game: vs. No. 4 Kansas State at 11:30 a.m. Thursday

No. 6 Baylor (18-13, 8-10)

Only Bill Self, Rick Barnes, Kelvin Sampson, Roy Williams and Eddie Sutton have won more Big 12 Tournament games than Scott Drew (12). The Bears bring another long, athletic team to the Sprint Center and one of the league’s hottest players, forward Terry Maston, who has averaged 14.5 points off the bench in his last six games.

Odds of winning the tournament: 12/1

NCAA Tournament chance: 50 percent

NCAA seed range: 10-12

First game: vs. No. 3 West Virginia around 8:30 p.m. Thursday

No. 7 Texas (18-13, 8-10)

All eyes are on Longhorns big man Mo Bamba, who is dealing with a sprained toe that has sidelined him for two straight games. Coach Shaka Smart said he expects Bamba to return before the season’s over, but isn’t certain it will be in time for Wednesday’s game against Iowa State.

Odds of winning tournament: 16/1

NCAA Tournament chance: 75 percent

NCAA seed range: 10-12

First game: vs. No. 10 Iowa State around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday

No. 8 Oklahoma State (18-13, 8-10)

If the Cowboys defeated Oklahoma, they’ll face Kansas for a third time this season with a chance to go 3-0 against the Jayhawks. Kendall Smith isn’t Oklahoma State’s scoring leader, Jeffrey Carroll is. But Smith was chosen Big 12 player of the week after each victory over KU, averaging 24.5 in those games.

Odds of winning tournament: 33/1

NCAA Tournament chance: 20 percent

NCAA seed range: 11-12

First game: vs. No. 9 Oklahoma at 6 p.m. Wednesday

No. 9 Oklahoma (18-12, 8-10)

The Sooners once stood 14-2 and Trae Young was the clear national player of the year favorite. Teams adjusted defensively and OU has gone 4-8 since then. Young remains the national leader in scoring (27.5) and assists (8.9) and could become first player to finish first in those per game categories.

Odds of winning tournament: 16/1

NCAA Tournament chance: 80 percent

NCAA seed range: 8-11

First game: vs. No. 8 Oklahoma State at 6 p.m. Wednesday

No. 10 Iowa State (13-17, 4-14)

The Cyclones have won three of the last four Big 12 Tournaments but enter as the bottom seed for the first time since 2011. Injuries have crushed this Iowa State, but the Cyclones managed to defeat Texas Tech and West Virginia this season. Freshmen Lindell Wigginton (16.6 points) and Cameron Lard (8.2) point to a brighter future.